Eric's Beijing Diary

I took the bus to Beihai this evening. I met a young lady on the bus who is a student at the football university. She is studying to be a referee. She invited me to come with her to a noodle shop near the square in Beihai. We got off the bus and walked up a side street to a small restaurant. The noodle dish was new to me (not an unusual experience in this country), but very tasty. One thing I really like about some of the side streets in Beihai, is the way they have planted rows of large, spreading shade trees on both sides. I don't know the species, but it really spreads it's branches. The two rows of trees create a "roof" that keeps the sun out and turns what would have been a hot, sunbaked street with melting asphalt into a pleasant avenue that is driving space, walking space, and outdoor living space all in one. The young lady didn't say, but I think perhaps the school she is attending is another one of the many private universities springing up around the country. The phenomenon is really a sort of cultural explosion in China. I don't know a lot about them, but I first became alerted to this phenomenon when I met a couple of young people in Beijing who are students at one of these institutions operated by a well known Chinese auto manufacturer (Geely). And, of course, there is the college where I am teaching right now. They all seem to be based on the same concept, and to be taking advantage of the same reality, which is that there are many, many students in this country who may not be able to fit into the narrow strictures of the National Entrance Exam, but whose parents are affluent enough to compensate. It's hard to get accurate estimates, but perhaps 400 million people in this country have risen from the depths of poverty since the beginning of Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms. And the moneyed class in this country keeps growing. The increasing prosperity has also increased the demand for education. I expect to see more and more schools like this.